Another Unexpected Visitor
by cailinbeag
Summary: Legolas appears in Rivendell seriously hurt, and Elrond (along with others) must figure out how he ended up in such a state. Takes place during Thorin Oakenshield's Company's visit to Rivendell, but the Dwarves don't appear much. Will be multi-chapter, no slash.
1. Chapter 1

Another Unexpected Visitor

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except for the few characters of my own creation.**

**Takes place during The Hobbit, when Thorin Oakenshield's Company were in Rivendell. This scene is (sort of) based off a scene from the film (which I don't normally do), and as to why it takes place during the Company's visit; it was an excuse for Gandalf to be there. Oh, and the title has very little relevance, except that, like already mentioned, it takes place during the Dwarves' visit, and Legolas, like them, was unexpected. **

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The majority of the Company of dwarves were happily eating and laughing in Rivendell, while Thorin, Balin, Gandalf and Bilbo were with Lord Elrond, deciphering the map. There was an Elvish attendant; not that Lord Elrond did not trust them, but in case they needed anything. This treatment was given to any who were guest of Lord Elrond, and the dwarves were no exception.

The Dwarves paid little attention to the elf, partly out of habit but mainly due to the food and drink that had been placed before them, and they ate much of it, despite it being far from their normal fare. However, Fili and Kili, being the youngest and generally more observant than their companions, noticed when the Elf, hearing a call to him that the Dwarves had not heeded, abruptly left the room. They looked at each other, but shrugged and carried on; the business of Elves was not their concern.

The elvish attendant, called Lindir, was actually far from an attendant, but, having not been in contact with dwarves for a very long time, had wished to observe them. He had been very interested, particularly in the dwarves relationship between each other, and had, unknown by the dwarves, had quickly learnt who was who within the Company.

"Lindir!" Lindir turned his head to see who had caused the interruption of his thoughts, and saw Mildal gesturing to him to follow her. Glancing at the dwarves, who were enthralled in their own meal, he nodded and quickly followed Mildal to see what he was needed for. Mildal headed towards one of the receptions and then Lindir understood why he had been called.

"Prince Legolas!" Lindir gasped when he saw King Thranduil's son standing in the room, or rather, leaning heavily against one of the tables. His blond hair was messy, the plaits having unwound, his clothes muddy, dishevelled and streaked with blood, that with closer inspection, came from a gash in his left leg. Turning to Mildal," Take Prince Legolas to a spare room immediately, and try to bandage his leg as best as possible. I will fetch Lord Elrond."

Mildal nodded, and Lindir could hear her calling for assistance from others who had emerged to see the wounded prince as he walked quickly down passageways. He heard Gandalf before any of the others, but knew that Lord Elrond would be with him. As he turned the corner, he almost bumped into the hobbit walking in the opposite direction, but stopped himself in time.

"Lord Elrond!"

"Lindir. What is it?" Elrond said, startled by the worried look on the other elf's face.

"Prince Legolas. He is badly injured." Lindir did not need to say more than this.

"Where is he?" That was Mithrindir, whom Lindir knew was a close friend of the wood-elf.

"Mildal has put him in one of the spare rooms, most likely the one opposite Elladan and Elrohir's room." Lindir answered, for though he did know for certain, this was the room that Legolas normally used when visiting. Lord Elrond and Mithrindir did not bother to reply, but headed straight to Legolas, leaving Lindir with a very bemused hobbit and two confused dwarves.  
"A friend of Lord Elrond's sons has arrived badly hurt," He offered as an explanation, and the response was simply a shrug of the shoulders.

Elrond and Gandalf hurried to the room where Legolas had been laid down on the bed. A number of people had arrived, including Elladan and Elrohir, who were standing closest to the bed, exchanging anxious glances. As they made their way to Legolas, people moved out the way and started to leave, knowing that Elrond rarely had much in way of company when healing someone.

Elrond bent over the bed to examine his patient, with his children and Gandalf standing a little way back to give him space. Legolas was deeply asleep, and he had many nasty cuts and bruises, particularly the one on his leg. Elrond mentally sighed; this was far from the first time Legolas had turned up in a bad state and it would undoubtedly not be the last. Though this was not the worst state Legolas had ever appeared in Imladris in, it was the first time that either his disappearance had been noticed or he had not been accompanied, and Elrond feared that Legolas' reason for arriving in such a messy way would not be pleasant, even for the battle-hardened wood-elf.

During this examination, medical supplies had come, so Elrond set about healing the young elf with the help of the others, being careful not to wake Legolas; Elrond was sure that he had not slept for many days and that would have taken its toll even without the added damage to his body.

When finished, Elrond ordered his children to rest, for they looked tired, and asked Lindir to watch over Legolas, for he knew that was the only way of preventing Elladan and Elrohir from staying with their injured friend. Then he and Gandalf left, for the White Council had been called and their presence was needed. He had told Lindir to get him if Legolas was to awake before his return, and not to question him, for that could wait until later.

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**This will be a multi-chapter story, possibly with flashbacks as well. Please review, helpful criticism is always welcome!**

**P.S. This was originally going to include Arwen, but someone mentioned that she was probably in Lothlorien at the time (because Aragorn and Arwen met in Lothlorien, around the time that The Hobbit takes place), so I have edited it so that she is not in it, though she may make a appearance through flashbacks or via being mentioned by someone.**  
**P.P.S. Also, someone else mentioned that this should be in The Hobbit section rather than LOTR, but the reason it is in LOTR is because while it occurs at the same time as The Hobbit, it includes characters that do not appear in The Hobbit (Arwen, Elladan, Elrohir, etc.). I didn't particularly want it to be a crossover either, as characters from The Hobbit (with the exception of Gandalf) won't appear again after this chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from my own creations.**

**Sorry for not updating sooner, but I got side-tracked with one of my other LOTR FF and school work and exams… I apologise in advance, as I know this is probably very similar to other fanfictions, but I have tried to make it original.**

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An Unexpected Visitor Chapter 2

The White Council had finished, and Elrond and Gandalf were walking back to Legolas' room when a slightly annoyed looking Dainigal, brother of Mildal appeared.

"Lord Elrond, the Dwarves have left!" Elrond raised an eyebrow at this news; he had been surprised that they had stayed the night, never mind the day.

"Well they didn't stay long. I'm assuming you will be departing in that case?" Elrond enquired calmly to Gandalf, who didn't look the slightest bit surprised at the news of the departure either.

"It may be for the best. They seem to have a penchant for finding trouble. However, I would like to see Legolas before I leave. Do not bother about sending me news about how he ended up here; I have a feeling I shall see him relatively soon anyway." Came the reply as they carried on towards Legolas' room.

Upon seeing Lindir, Elrond questioned him, "As we had no interruption, I take it that Legolas did not wake up?"

"Correct, my lord. However… He is talking, or rather alternating between shouting and pleading in his sleep." Lindir gestured into the room, where, sure enough, they could hear Legolas' desperate mumbling.

"Hmm. That is certainly cause for concern." Gandalf muttered quietly as Elladan and Elrohir appeared, with tired expressions on their identical faces.

"Another reason to be seriously concerned is the fact that nobody has turned up and no message has come from Mirkwood asking us if Legolas is with us, which means something is very wrong. This has never happened before." Elladan told them.

"Hence there are only three possible answers, and only one of them makes any sense. One-" Elrohir carried on.

"Legolas got detached from the group and no one has noticed, which is a ridiculous notion even if he was not their prince. Two-" Elladan continued.

"Legolas went alone; also a ridiculous notion, as not even he would go alone out of Mirkwood. Three-" This came from Elrohir.

"Legolas is the only survivor." Explained Elladan.

"Which would explain why nobody else came with him and Thranduil does not know to look for them." Elrohir finished.

"If this is true, than it is no wonder that Prince Legolas is traumatised." Added Lindir.

Gandalf nodded, "I fear we must now ask him ourselves, if only to proceed in the best possible way."

"Send a messenger to King Thranduil immediately, with news that Legolas is safe here, but we fear that he is the only survivor of an event that we have yet to discover and we are in the process of asking him." Elrond instructed Dainigal, who nodded once, swept a bow and departed.

"Do we wake him?" Lindir asked.

"No. To wake him now would only bring more trouble, I fear. However, I will try to nudge him out of his deep sleep so that he awakens of his own accord quicker." Elrond replied as they made their way into the room, leaning over Legolas.

"Wait Ada, what he is saying may help us figure out what happened without having to ask him as much." Elladan suggested. Elrond nodded, and motioned for them to come forward so that they could hear.

"_Yrch_!" The elves recoiled as Legolas shouted out in his sleep, "No, Arasseg! Let her go! Tirith, go back; warn the others! No…" His voice faded to a whisper as the elves and wizard around him exchanged worried glances.

"Master Elrond, I think it would be wise to awaken him now. Whatever has happened, it is far beyond normal." Gandalf advised quietly.

"Do you not need to be with the Dwarves?" Elladan queried.

"Ah, yes. I had forgotten. I should be off." Gandalf stood up, brushed down his robes, and bowed farewell, placing a hand on Legolas' head briefly before leaving. The others remained at Legolas' bedside, lost in their own thoughts.

"I will awaken him now. You two may need to hold him down to stop him from lashing out." Elrond spoke to his sons, knowing from experience that Legolas would not take well from being woken up from a nightmare, and it could cause him to think that he was being attacked. They nodded, and gently put hands upon the shoulders of their friend, while Elrond leant over and placed a hand in the air above Legolas' head. After a few moments of intense healing, Legolas woke up, and as predicted, immediately tried to struggle, panic obvious in his eyes.

"Legolas! You are safe, penneth." Legolas looked up at Elrond, the panic in his eyes dying as he realised where he was, allowing the twins to let him go.

"Forgive me, Lord Elrond." He said quietly.

"There is nothing to forgive. We have sent word to your father that you are here." Replied Elrond.

"Have you seen the others?" Legolas asked, somewhat frantically.

"Nay, I am afraid not. I would have sent out scouts, but we did not know the direction that you had come from."

"I came through the Mountain Pass, where we… we were ambushed."

"By orcs."

"Yes."

"Were the others with you when you came here?"

"No. I left last, I… I assumed that they had already made it here…"

"I am sorry, mellon nín." Elladan told him sympathetically, but Legolas simply stared out of the window.

"What happened, Legolas?" Elrond asked tentatively, for the need to know was greater than Elrond's worry about making Legolas even more distraught. Legolas was silent, and Elrond wondered whether he had crossed the line.

Finally Legolas spoke, "We had just survived another ambush, and we were tired and Arasseg was badly injured, and therefore Groveren and Naith were carrying her, with Tirith at the front and I was bringing up the rear. We had stopped to apply more balm to Arasseg's leg, and Groveren and Naith had gone ahead to scout, when an orc sprang from the bushes onto Tirith. She killed it, and then we tried to help move Arasseg behind some boulders, but more orcs appeared and we were over powered."

There was more, but Legolas couldn't face telling them. It was his fault his friends had ended up dead. He was supposed to be the eldest, the best fighter, he was supposed to have his companions' backs. He had failed them.

"Legolas, what happened wasn't your fault-" Elrohir spoke.

"You are wrong! It was my fault! I should've protected them! It should be me dead instead of them!" Legolas shouted at them, speaking before thinking. He immediately felt guilty; they were only trying to help him.

Elrond placed a hand on the young elf's shoulder, "We do not know for certain that they are… dead."

"What are their chances of survival?" Legolas asked bitterly.

"It depends on how injured they are," Elladan reminded him, "Yet we speak in ignorance for you have not finished your tale, so lost in the pain of thinking of it were you."

"Then I shall finish it, though it is not a pleasant account, and then you shall judge for yourselves."

"We shall not judge anything except the best way to help you and the others," Elrond informed Legolas firmly, and his sons nodded in agreement, "Now, if you are able, please tell us the rest."

"Tirith managed to hide behind a boulder; she's small enough that they only focused on us, while I helped Arasseg up a tree," He shook his head, "Arasseg had gotten up high enough that they could not reach her, except for with arrows, which they had none of, but I had not climbed fast enough, and they pulled me to the ground. Tirith and Arasseg shot at them until I was able to get up and fight."

"And then?" Elrond probed softly.

"More came; we managed to overpower them for long enough to get Arasseg away to a meeting point we had agreed with Naith and Groveren and warn them about what was happening-" Legolas broke off in a yawn.

"Rest. We can hear the remainder of it later."

"No. You must hear as much of it as possible."

"As you wish, though bear in mind you will not be at your most helpful if you are too tired or ill." Legolas nodded to Elrond's reminder.

"Naith and Groveren decided to attack them, leaving Tirith to get Arasseg back to Mirkwood."

"What did you do?"

"I followed behind Naith and Groveren, and if any of the orcs were to break off, I was to follow them to their hideout and destroy it."

"Lord Elrond?" Called a voice from outside the room.

"Please, come in Lindir."

The dark haired elf did so, but remained at the door. "I wondered if there was anything I could do to be of assistance."

"We now know the vague location, why don't we start to send out scouts?" Elrohir suggested, more to his father than anyone else.

"Legolas?" Elrond turned to the blond elf.

"Any help is welcome. I have not finished my tale, nor do I have much hope that you will find anyone, for there is many places they could be, but the sooner action is taken, the better." Legolas said dejectedly.

"We will do all we can, Prince Legolas," It was Lindir who addressed him, "Should we let your father know what has happened and what we plan to do?"

"No, not yet. He will only ask why you are doing it, and you cannot tell him what I have yet to finish telling you. "

"As you wish." Lindir bowed, and exited the room.

"I take it something went wrong?" Elrond asked.

"Yes, though I only realised it too late," Legolas paused, seeming to mentally prepare himself for what he was to say, "I was a fool. I underestimated the orcs. I saw a group behind me, and I went to deal with them. I felt something was not quite right, but I could not ignore the orcs, for there were many of them, and I could not let them join their comrades to attack the others. They had chosen to hide amongst the taller trees, but they were still easily seen. I shot a few of them easily, but the rest started to move away, and I followed them. As soon as I had jumped down from the trees, I was encircled, for more had come up behind me whilst I was concentrating on the group I was hunting."

"What did they do?"

"They closed in on me, for I could not shoot them without provoking them into attacking me earlier than it was sensible to do. I waited until the leader stepped forward before stabbing him with a dagger I had hidden in my sleeve. That of course made them all attack me at the same time, but I had gained the second of surprise I needed to draw my swords. They were well armed, but poorly trained, and I overpowered each of them without much damage-"

"The state that you arrived here in was not because of this fight?" Elrond queried, surprised and slightly alarmed.

"Nay, my injuries came later. However, while the fight with those orcs did not harm me seriously, it wasted time, which was the presumable purpose. I ran on towards the others, but when I got to the furthest point they could have reached, they were nowhere in sight. I went back, and I found their tracks." Legolas shook his head, "I should not have been able to do that; they should have been covered up and they were headed in the wrong direction. I followed the tracks, and soon they were intermingled with orc tracks, the same orcs they had been trying to avoid. They had been attacked and captured."

"How did you know that hey had been captured?" Elladan questioned.

"I saw their blood on the trees! Their weapons had been thrown into a bush!" Legolas hissed in anger.

Elladan raised his hands in apology, "Forgive me, I was only attempting to understand."

"I know. I am sorry for my reaction. After picking up their weapons, I followed the tracks that Arasseg had made being dragged along with her reopened wound, and it carried on for a long way until it came to a troll cave where they had taken them. The blood trail led in there."

"You did not raid it by yourself?" Elrond enquired. Legolas nodded.

"Oh Legolas…" Elrond shook his head, "No wonder you arrived in such a bad condition. What happened?"

"I checked to see whether there were any guards, but they must have seemed confident that their friends could dispose of me, but it was late, so I spent the night in a tree nearby and left the weapons in a hollow tree next to the cave. I sneaked into the cave very quietly, and the first orcs did not notice me before they met my sword. The cave was deep, but there were slits in the rock where some light seeped through, so that I could see that there were two tunnels, and from the noise, one was where the orcs slept and ate and the other was where Arasseg, Naith, Groveren and Tirith were being kept. I knew that there was no chance of killing all of the orcs, and thus the only way was to get everyone out without being noticed. I slipped down the tunnel and found them. They were chained to the wall, with Arasseg on the other side in case the others tried to help her heal her leg.

I managed to cut through the bonds with my sword; they were weak after many years of no use, and apart from Arasseg, no one was particularly wounded. It was agreed that Groveren, as the strongest, would carry Arasseg while I stayed at the back, as I was the only one with weapons until we got outside. We managed to get out of the cave without attracting attention, but then our luck fell. The orcs from the cave and the forest were part of a larger group who had come to meet in the cave. I distracted them while the others went to the hollow to collect their weapons and lift Arasseg into a tree again.

We fought for a long time, and we all took direct hits from the orcs, as they had surrounded us and whenever we cut down one, another would step forward in their place. Finally, we managed to break through the ring, and we ran for our lives. We had to leave Arasseg behind, though we promised her that we would return."

"What happened then?"

"We arrived at a river, thinking ourselves safe and settled to rest, for we were all weak after our fight. Naith watched while the rest of us slept. We woke up to knives by our necks, and Naith with an arrow through his eye."

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**So, a cliffhanger! That was mean... :D**

**Anyway, please review! Helpful criticism is also welcome, and if anyone thinks I'm going too fast, please tell me; I've had the notion while writing this that things should perhaps go more slowly, also, please tell me if this was boring; I got slightly bored by the end, but then I'm the one writing it, I suppose… Might be a while before I can update again; school doesn't finish until July.**

**If anyone wants a reply to their review, please login, otherwise I can't reply!**

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_**N.B.** (Extra info)_

_(I shall try to keep this as canon as possible in terms of the times of events happening in The Hobbit, as I assume (like most) that Legolas takes part in the Battle of the Five Armies with his father, even if he does not actually appear in The Hobbit as Tolkien had not invented the character of Legolas at that stage. _

_P.S. 'Yrch' is elvish for orcs, 'Mellon nín' is elvish for 'my friend', 'Groveren' is apparently the elvish form of Bernard, which means 'bold bear', 'Tirith' is the elvish form of Casey, which means 'vigilance', 'Arasseg' is the elvish form of 'Fawn' and 'Naith' is the elvish form of Gary, which means 'spearpoint'. I cannot promise total accuracy with elvish though, I'm afraid._

_(I've just watched the film clip of the Dwarves in Rivendell and realised that it is nothing like my first chapter implies… Sorry about that, a bit misleading! Next time I try to do something along the lines of the film, I'll try to watch it first…))_

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Cailin x


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